Artwork by Joel Berman 

Closing Sunday, Sept. 20

Joel's work is rooted in the process of Urban Sketching—a discipline of drawing on-site, in the moment, to capture what he sees and immediately process. The series Water is born out of his ritual on the Chicago River. As a self-proclaimed "River Rat," Joel's subject is kinetic, chaotic, and constantly shifting.
This exhibition showcases some sketches drawn directly from my kayak, a practice he calls "sketchyaking." The instability of drawing from the water forces immediate decision-making and rapid lines, stripping the urban scene down to its essential architectural and emotional elements. These sketches are conceptual tools, quickly translating the chaotic relationship between the natural world (water, sky, movement) and human infrastructure (bridges, piers, bulkheads, high-rises). The high-contrast, fast lines highlight the underlying skeleton of the city while accepting the unpredictable nature of the medium. The work is yin and yang: a structured architectural hand as a foil to the spontaneous energy of the water.

Joel Berman is the Principal Architect and founder of Berman Architecture, a national design firm rooted right here in Andersonville. While his professional practice designs everything from complex retail franchise prototypes (including restaurants and bars) to adaptive reuse projects, his personal artistic pursuit is driven by capturing the immediate environment on site through rapid, expressive sketching.
A self-proclaimed “River Rat,” Joel lives on the Chicago River, which serves as a constant muse and backdrop for his artwork. He actively explores this unique urban ecosystem through kayaking, rowing crew with the Chicago Rowing Foundation, and dragon boat racing with the Greater Chicagoland Dragon Boat Club. His deep engagement with the river’s life and evolving landscape directly informs the lines and shadows of his creative work. Joel volunteers for the Swedish American Museum during Midsommarfest, and donates art for auction for their annual gala. Most mornings Joel walks across Clark street from his office for coffee and cardamom from Mormor's cafe.
Joel champions freehand sketching as an essential tool for conceptual design, embracing its speed and intimacy to translate ideas quickly and clearly. He has spent years sharing this passion as a frequent educator for professional associations across Canada (including the Royal Architect's Institute of Canada and the Ontario and Alberta Associations of Architects). Joel also instructs at Urban Sketchers Chicago and Urban Sketcher Nagpur (India). His teaching legacy includes instructing dozens of primary school teachers for the Chicago Architecture Foundation – National Endowment of the Humanities Landmark Series on how to foster visual literacy in their students.
His sketches, drawn with a keen architectural eye, aim to show the immediate, emotional truth found in the world around us.

Artwork by Rae Penzin & Kaho'okele Napuahinano 

Exhibit Opens during Andersonville Arts Weekend
Friday, Sept. 25

This display, featured in the Swedish American Museum’s inviting Mormors Café, showcases the work of two artists, Rae Penzin and Kaho’okele Napuahinano, whose work reflects on the cultural traditions and values of their ancestors in Sweden and Hawai’i respectively. This show brings together two unique and distinct artists who have both found a home in Chicagoland, an area that has a rich history and continuing legacy of being enriched and inspired by immigrants and the cultural traditions that they share. We invite you to ponder, along with the artist, what it means to form and be formed in many parts of life, to embody and build upon the legacy of one’s ancestors.

About the artists:

Rae Penzin, 92, has been drawing and painting since childhood. Although she is primarily self-taught, over the years she has taken specialized classes in Iowa, Wisconsin, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has produced works in oil, pastel, casein, colored pencil, watercolor, and acrylics, and is currently concentrating on the techniques of origami and embroidery. A longtime member of the Park Ridge Arts League, Rae has exhibited her work throughout Park Ridge and nearby communities. Being of Swedish heritage, Rae’s mother exposed her to many Swedish influences and traditions throughout her childhood. She was encouraged to be conscious of the beauty and uniqueness of all things, and how they keep changing before our eyes. 
“It’s all there – all we have to do is learn to see it!”

Kaho’okele Napuahinano is a fourth generation Kanaka born and raised in Chicago, IL. She is of both Hawaiian and Scandinavian descent. After returning from a year in Hilo, Hawaii late 2019, following the Ka ʻAha Hula ʻO Halauaola (World Hula Conference) of 2018, Hinano came home to Chicago even more so inspired by her people, land, and culture. In 2022 she started ‘Hinano By Design’ as a means to help preserve Hawaiian culture through her artwork. Having worked with printmaking, painting, digital artworks, and clay, she creatively brings Kanaka ideas to more contemporary outlets. Working with traditional Hawaiian art forms such as lauhala weaving, feather work making Kāhili, lei making, and Kapa, Hinano keeps her ancestors' arts alive. Hinano is a co-curator of the, “Chicago’s Legacy Hula”, exhibit at the Field Museum of Chicago with the partnership of the Aloha Center of Chicago, where she honors her family’s legacy of Hula and tells the story of how Hawaiians and Hula came to Chicago 134 years ago.